UPDATE: Jewish comedian Jon Stewart led his satire news show “The Daily Show” with a bit on Don Hikind’s blackface during Purim, then followed it with a segment with Jessica Williams about “The War on Purim.” Watch:

A report from the New York Daily News surfaced ugly pictures of Brooklyn Assemblyman Dov Hikind at a party celebrating the Jewish holiday of Purim in blackface, additionally donning an oversized wig, dark sunglasses, and orange shirt, in an attempt to look like (in his words) a “black basketball star.”

Hikind later apologized for the costume, but called the criticism “political correctness to the absurd” and later intimated that he might “be a gay person next year” at the next costume party.

Blackface has a deep-seated, intertwined history with racism in the United States. Hikind’s decision to physically imitate a “black basketball star” becomes even more puzzling when you consider that this is the first year his borough welcomes a professional basketball team, the Brooklyn Nets, with a roster filled with young black men (one of whom who just won the Black Youth Empowerment Special Leadership Award in his hometown), a black general manager who was once named one of the 101 most Influential Minorities in Sports by Sports Illustrated, and a commitment to honoring black history in the borough.

Hikind contends that he was just trying to look like a “black basketball star,” but, what star, exactly? The oversized wig, sunglasses, and orange shirt don’t conjure images of any specific player or team. No, Hikind’s costume was a lazy generalization of black stereotypes all mish-mashed into one awful mask, that served to dehumanize, rather than respect. It’s similarly disheartening to see Hikind’s brushing, excusatory comments, making it seem as if it were a prank that merely just went wrong or was misinterpreted, rather than acknowledging the social history that makes blackface — particularly by a publicly elected official — inappropriate.

“It is racist,” said firebrand Councilman Charles Barron (D-Brooklyn). Assemblyman Karim Camara (D-Brooklyn), chairman of the Black, Puerto Rican, Hispanic and Asian Legislative Caucus, said, “The history of the blackface minstrel show is something deeply painful in the African-American community.”

The comment section of blogs always remind me how racist this country still is. 1. That’s a guy in blackface wearing a prison jump suit trying to fool us into thinking its a BASKETBALL PLAYER! 2. He is a politician who should know better. 3. Anyone who can’t see this is racist is probably equally racist.

black face is wrong. period. yeah it is fucked up if you dress your kid as obama, using shoe polish. and fuck this guy. such a hypocrite. see’s no issue with this, or jewish teens beating up a pakistani, but If anyone dares to criticize Israel, your an anti-semite